$35 for a bowl of soup??? Welcome to Iceland.

We did an extended trip to Iceland a few years ago. On that visit we drove the ring road, basically circumnavigating the island. This trip was just a short stopover enroute home. We explored one of the famous regions we missed last time – Snæfellsnes Peninsula. And yes, we did pay $35 for a bowl of soup. More on that below.

The Spectacular Snæfellsnes Peninsula

The Snæfellsnes Peninsula is on the west coast, a short 2-1/2 hour drive from the airport. It was a perfect escape for a few days. Once you get by the congestion of Reykjavik traffic (60% of Iceland’s 320,000 population live in Reykjavik), the roads are a relaxing drive. The main hazards are sheep or horses that have escaped from their fields; it is hard to predict their next moves.

Our room at the Hotel Langaholt overlooked the North Atlantic (technically Faxaflói Bay) on one side and Snæfellsjökull, a dormant volcano on the other. Snæfellsjökull dominates the western end of the peninsula, the eponymous Snæfellsjökull National Park. The volcano last erupted 1,800 years ago. Unfortunately, except for the first hour of our visit, the peak was mostly hidden behind cloud.

The peninsula is justifiably famed for its dramatic landscape. It is only about 90 kms long and 20 kms wide so even with our short drives we saw most of the main sights. The many beaches are mainly black lava rock, often bracketed by steep basalt cliffs. The roads skirt around rock-strewn lava fields. There are a few traditional old villages, all of which have their own historic wooden church. Waterfalls cascade down every mountainside. Fissures run deep. We went to the mouth of one of them, the Raudfeldsgja Gorge. More adventurous souls than us were climbing into the fissure. We followed government warnings and stayed out.

Game of Thrones Tourism

For the most part the roads were quiet. That is until we approached Grundarfjörður on the northern coast. We suddenly ran into a traffic jam. The attraction was Kirkjufell – “Church Mountain”. It was featured in Game of Thrones. We didn’t watch the series, but for those who did, it was Arrowhead, birthplace of the Night King. It is now a magnet for Game of Thrones fans and gangs of Instagrammers. Crazy.

We took a lot more photos but didn’t want to overwhelm you. If you’d like to see more click here for the Snæfellsnes Peninsula Gallery

It Cost How Much?

Yes it was expensive. The $35 bowls of soup (which we bought because George miscalculated the exchange rate) were just the start. Consumer items of any kind are costly. Regular americanos were about $8. Slices of cake were $15. Gas is about $3.15 CDN per litre (around $8.70 USD per gallon for American readers). Buffet dinner at our hotel, the only restaurant for 20 kms, was $90 each. We did eat well though. The buffet had multiple fresh fish dishes, all straight out of the ocean that morning, as well as local roast lamb.

It says a lot about us (and not good!) that our benchmark for prices is the cost of a Gin and Tonic. A single G&T at our hotel was $33. A 700 ml bottle of Bombay Sapphire was $90 at the government liquor store.

Expect to give your credit card a good workout. Like most places we’ve travelled since Covid, no one wants cash. We didn’t even bother buying Icelandic krona.

Iceland is undeniably expensive but we highly recommend a visit.